Injuries hurt Australia

Batsman Martyn ruled out of Sri Lankan semifinal

Brett Lee battered Sri Lanka in their Super Six clash. Hamish Blair/Getty Images

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa (AP) -- Defending champion Australia faces a semifinal showdown against a plucky Sri Lanka after losing its fourth first-choice player in an otherwise record-breaking tournament.

No. 4 batsman Damien Martyn, 31, was ruled out Monday, on the eve of the Sri Lanka match, after medical scans revealed he had a broken right index finger.

Earlier casualties were fast bowler Jason Gillespie (heel) and allrounder Shane Watson (back) to injuries and legspinner Shane Warne, who failed a drug test.

It will be Australia's biggest test mentally under Ricky Ponting's leadership and coach John Buchanan conceded losing Martyn was a setback.

"It's a setback, obviously Damien is a key member of our top-order," said Buchanan. "We'd prefer to have him in the side, but it's just (hoped) that another player comes in and replaces him adequately."

Aussies no good against spin, says Harbhajan DURBAN, South Africa (AP) -- Australian batsmen are susceptible against quality spinners because of their tendency to play too many strokes, says India's ace offspinner Harbhajan Singh, who routed the Aussies during a test series in 2001. "Australia are the defending World champions and they've got some of the best batsmen, but they're not always on top of the spinners," Singh said Monday as India prepared for its World Cup semifinal against Kenya. Australia has won all nine matches here going into its semifinal against Sri Lanka on Tuesday at Port Elizabeth, where Singh says the Aussies might come unstuck against quality spinners on a wicket that assists turn. "Sri Lanka's got two quality spinners in Muttiah Muralitharan and Aravinda de Silva who are bowling well right now ... and the pitch there helps spinners," said Singh. Singh said India was confident of beating minnow Kenya and, if the Aussies get past the Sri Lankans, he's looking forward to the challenge of facing the world champions in the final. "The Aussie batsmen have a spin problem -- they're good players, but they play too many shots," said Singh. "That gives the spinners an opportunity to skittle them out." Singh claimed 32 wickets to clinch India a 2-1 test series win against Steve Waugh's Australian team in India two years ago. India was thrashed in the first test and was in trouble in the second before the turban-wearing Singh helped turn the series.

Michael Bevan, one of the leading batsmen in limited-overs cricket, is expected to return from a back problem that kept him out of the five-wicket win over Kenya and slot in at No. 4 for Australia.

That would allow Buchanan to retain allrounders Andrew Symonds and Ian Harvey to build the all-around strength of the lineup.

Australia has won a record 15 consecutive one-dayers and is just one match away from reaching its third final in as many World Cups. It lost to Sri Lanka in the 1996 final at Lahore and beat Pakistan in the final at Lord's in 1999.

Australia has only lost three times in 10 matches against Sri Lanka since winning the last World Cup.

Both of Australia's losses in its last 24 one-day internationals have come against Sri Lanka, including a seven-wicket loss at Colombo in the Champions Trophy semifinal last September and a 79-run defeat in Sydney on Jan. 9.

The ruthless Australians will use anything to win, but the controversial St. George's Park pitch might curtail its fast bowlers.

Paceman Brett Lee left Sri Lanka battered and bruised in Australia's 96-run win in the opening Super Six match at Centurion and will be once again be called upon to crush the Lankans.

Ponting said the Australians have been promised of a "quicker and bouncier" pitch after he'd criticized the wicket following narrow wins over England and New Zealand.

"If its looks like its going to be bit quicker and bouncier ... he'll be able to bowl the same way at Sri Lanka as he's done in the last few games," Ponting said. "If it's not conducive to bounce, then swing them out or beat them with pace."

"Intent and intimidate," Ponting added, were the key words in the campaign.

Despite just scraping into the final four ahead of New Zealand with a win over Zimbabwe on Saturday, Sri Lanka skipper Sanath Jayasuriya said his lineup could match the "aggressive and in-your-face" style of the Aussies.

The defending champions have progressed through the tournament without a loss and on form it should beat Sri Lanka easily.

But Ponting said rivals were capable of lifting for a one-off match, and promised his lineup would lift to meet them.

"The fact is if we lose we're out. We'll give ourselves every chance to win and you can't do anymore," Ponting said. "I think the way we played here, it would be disappointing if we didn't reach the final.

"We just need to keep performing at a higher level and if we keep doing it, I can't seen any reason why we can't take it home."

Ponting said Australia's defense of the Cup so far had been a rough ride, despite going unbeaten.

"We've been good enough to dig ourselves out of very big holes and that says a lot about the confidence and the character of this side."

Australia will once again target leftarm swing bowler Chaminda Vaas -- the tournament's leading bowler with 20 wickets -- and the freakish offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan in a similar game plan to the last match.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka is considering a two-pronged pace attack -- Vaas and Pulasthi Gunaratne -- and replacing the third seamer Dilhara Fernando with a batting allrounder Jehan Mubarak, who can bowl offspin.

Sri Lanka is confident the P.E. pitch will encourage spin bowling.

Despite being upgraded, the pitch is expected to make run-chasing difficult, particularly against a Sri Lankan attack which has mastered the art of taking the pace off the ball.

Jayasuriya said the Sri Lankans would decide on a lineup after a final inspection of the pitch.

"We're underdogs. We'll just go and enjoy our game. Nothing to worry about," he said. "We play a similar brand of cricket to theirs ... that's why we've been able to beat Australia. We need to play our aggressive and positive cricket.

"This is an important game ... It will be anybody's game. There is no guarantee that Australia is going to win if our boys can match them on the particular day."

Jayasuriya said the team that won the World Cup seven years ago was more experienced than the present one.

"This side has youth and experience and we have been sometimes playing extremely well and sometimes badly," he said.

"The problem is with the middle-order batting. We have been going through a hard time with Mahela (Jayawardene) out of form. We have to make it solid," Jayasuriya said.

 

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